Editorial - Making presence felt

From polling places, the police are now shifting their attention to cemeteries for the observance of All Saints' Day tomorrow. In Cebu, more policemen will be deployed in various cemeteries across the province to maintain peace and order.

After implementing a tight security during the conduct of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections last week, police and military authorities had to continue their alert status at the cemeteries to ensure the peaceful observance of the All Saints' Day.

In this country, rowdy crowds would always trigger untoward incidents during observance of All Saints' Day. That is why the police would always intensify their presence at cemeteries.

During the past observances, the authorities had banned the entry of liquor, knife and other forms of bladed weapons into cemeteries to prevent any trouble. Still, there were people who managed to gain entry with those banned things, further increasing the risk of untoward incidents.

It has been noted that liquors had been one of the causes of incidents at cemeteries during observance of All Saints’ Day. A person who is under the influence of liquor can easily get into trouble.

But even the tightest security by the police could not prevent the entry of liquor into cemeteries. Since the joy of having to spend the day with the departed loved ones would not be complete without food and drinks, there are those who can manage to slip a bottle or two into cemeteries.

Of course, knives and bolos are a big no-no at cemeteries. But many would still sneak bladed weapons into cemeteries as tools for cleaning the graves of their departed loved ones.

But the police authorities cannot really prevent untoward incidents at cemeteries during the observance of All Saints’ Day. All they have to do is make their presence felt to prevent criminals from sabotaging the event.